Terrifying Tricicleta Travel - Journal from Mon. 7.13.09

This morning, we said goodbye to Luz Marina, each payed our 78 soles (like $26) for our room and board for the past three nights, and walked with Aloy down to the port. I really enjoyed our conversation with him on the way there. I asked about the effects of tourism, and he was completely of the opinion that it is nothing but a positive development. He said before tourism, Amantaní had fewer people, no stone roads, and was basically just farmland. He seems to just see advancement, more prosperity, and more options in the Amantaní of today.

I also asked him his opinion on the current Peruvian president, Alan García. Aloy seemed to dislike him very much, saying he is ineffective and not worthy of being president. He was much more positive about previous presidents Toledo and Fujimori because they both improved the tourism industry and carried through with goals that directly benefitted Amantaní. At the same time, he still believes Fujimori deserves to be incarcerated for his human rights abusues. It is a very curious phenomenon that so many people can love a man who they also believe deserves strict punishment. Maybe because political options in Peru are so corrupt and volitile to begin with, people just take any help they can get. They don't have the luxury that we do in the U.S. of quibbling over small issues and character flaws. I think of Bill Clinton, which seems like a similar, though much less severe case. Despite all he did and his potential, so many Democrats swore off him completely in the U.S. after his scandal. We can judge the whole package because it is likely that a better all-around candidate will come along. Not in Peru.

Other highlight (or lowpoint, really) of today. In an attempt to check another item off our Peru to-do list, we hired a tricicleta to take us from the port to All Ways - never again! Along small, quiet roads where traffic laws exist and are obeyed, I would have enjoyed being pedaled around, but in Puno, it was just terrifying! Our driver drove in and out of traffic, seemed to have an aversion to putting on the brakes, and drove us through an intersection in which a taxi was heading straight for us. Like I said. Never. Again.